Interactive television (iTV) is currently available in varying forms. At the core of iTV applications are the navigation applications provided to subscribers to assist in the discovery and selection of television programming. Currently available methods and systems for browsing and selecting broadcast (linear television) are known as interactive program guides (IPGs)—or electronic program guides (EPGs). Current IPGs allow the subscriber to browse and select linear broadcast programming. These IPGs also include the ability to subset the broadcast linear program listing data by subject or type of programming.
In addition to linear broadcast television, subscribers may now also be given opportunities to select from a list of programs that are not linear, but instead are provided on demand. Such technology is generally referred to as Video on Demand (VOD). The current schemes for browsing and selecting VOD programs include the ability to select such programming from categories of programming.
Due to advances in technologies such as data compression, system operators such as cable multiple system operators (MSOs) and satellite operators are able to send more and more broadcast channels and on-demand content over their systems. This in turn has prompted broadcast content providers and programmers to develop more and more channels and on-demand content offerings. Also, the addition of digital video recorder (DVR) technology to set-top boxes (STBs) now provide additional options for time-shifted viewing of broadcast TV and increasing options for the storage of VOD titles that have been purchased for viewing, or likely-to-purchase.
The current television navigational structure is predicated on the numeric channel lineup where a channel's position is determined arbitrarily for each MSO system and without regard for clustering content type or brand. To the TV viewer, this is also manifested in the grid-based navigational tools as they are generally structured in a time-by-channel grid format. As a navigational model, this has become outdated with the increasing number of channels (500+). The problem is further exacerbated with the addition of non-linear (non time-based) On-Demand and time-shifted (DVR) content and other interactive applications such as games.
With these increasing number of TV viewing options comes a complexity of navigating the options to find something to watch. There are generally two types of viewers. One type of viewer knows the type of content they want to watch and are searching for an instance of that type of content. This is exemplified by a viewer who, wanting to watch an action film, wishes to browse available action films. The second type of viewer is one that has no specific notion of what they want to watch—they just want to find something interesting to them in a more impulse oriented manner.
The current state of technology for browsing for TV content includes searching lists of content underneath category heading or browsing large lists or grids of data to find content, or typing in search criteria. Each of these browse methods are referred to in this document as content search points. Content search points include IPG's and EPG's, Movies-On-Demand applications, text search, DVR recorded shows listings, and Category Applications as specified in the above-cited patent application. Current technology also consists of menus and toolbars that allow one to jump to the various content search points. The problem with current technology is that due to the large amount of content on the Digital TV service, the menus and toolbars themselves are becoming either long lists of specific content that are difficult to search, or short lists of general categories that do not provide quick access to specific needs. Thus, the new features of digital television, new content types and the sheer volume of viewing options warrant a new navigational model for viewing television.